The Rhymney Valley Ridgeway Walk is a waymarked

long distance footpath A long-distance trail (or long-distance footpath, track, way, greenway) is a longer recreational trail mainly through rural areas used for hiking, backpacking, cycling, equestrianism or cross-country skiing. They exist on all continents exce ...

in the UK forming a circular walk in the

Rhymney Valley The Rhymney Valley () is one of the South Wales valleys, with the Rhymney River forming the border between the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire. Between 1974 and 1996 a Rhymney Valley local government district also existed (on ...

area of

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

.Rhymney Valley Ridgeway Walk - Long Distance Walker's Association
accessed 1 November 2013
accessed 1 November 2013.

Distance

The Rhymney Valley Ridgeway Walk is approximately 45 kilometres (~28 miles) long.

Route

The walk route starts at

Rhymney Rhymney (; ) is a town and a community (Wales), community in the county borough of Caerphilly (county borough), Caerphilly, South Wales. It is within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshir ...

and heads south down the

where it becomes a circular loop and runs around the

Caerphilly Caerphilly (, ; , ) is a town and community (Wales), community in Wales. It is situated at the southern end of the Rhymney Valley and separated from the Cardiff suburbs of Lisvane and Rhiwbina by Caerphilly Mountain. It is north of Cardiff an ...

basin linking the three main upland ridges of Mynydd-y-Grug, Thornhill/ Y Ddraenen and Eglwysilan and passes through Caerphilly,

Bedwas Bedwas is a town situated two miles north-east of Caerphilly, south Wales, situated in the Caerphilly (county borough), Caerphilly county borough, within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshi ...

, Hengoed, Rudry and

Machen Machen (from Welsh ' "place (of)" + ', a personal name) is a large village three miles east of Caerphilly, south Wales. It is situated in the Caerphilly borough within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. It neighbours Bedwas and Treth ...

, the highest point on the route is at Cefn y Brithdir at 446 metres. The

South Wales Valleys The South Wales Valleys () are a group of industrialised peri-urban valleys in South Wales. Most of the valleys run northsouth, roughly parallel to each other. Commonly referred to as "The Valleys" (), they stretch from Carmarthenshire in the ...

offer a post-industrial landscape full of

industrial archaeology Industrial archaeology (IA) is the systematic study of material evidence associated with the Industry (manufacturing), industrial past. This evidence, collectively referred to as industrial heritage, includes buildings, machinery, artifacts, si ...

, reclaimed industrial sites and new light industry to replace the heavy

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

industry of old. The area also has castles such as

Caerphilly Castle Caerphilly Castle () is a medieval castle, fortification in Caerphilly in South Wales. The castle was constructed by Gilbert de Clare, 7th Earl of Gloucester, Gilbert de Clare in the 13th century as part of his campaign to maintain control of ...

and Ruperra Castle, prehistoric and

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

age sites and offers the day walker and the whole route walker a mix of demanding upland walking, panoramic views and, varied sites to visit and places to stay.

References

{{Transport in Caerphilly County Borough Recreational walks in Wales Long-distance footpaths in Wales Transport in Caerphilly County Borough